MaximumPC 2005 12

32 MA XIMUMPC DECEMBER 2005

SOUTH WING: FORMFACTOR GALLERY

The floor-to-ceiling windows of the South Wing provide ideal light by which to

appreciate the architectural majesty of today’s PC formfactors

Case^

Cooler Master CM Stacker 830

This case is big enough to accommodate the rowdiest, 1970s-style hardware orgy

we’ve ever seen

The all-new Stacker 830 has so many

bays, expansion ports, fan mounts,

and doohickeys that it’s actually

arousing. Not only can you

install nine 12cm fans, but

there are 10 5.25-inch bays,

a removable mobo tray with

a built-in handle, and support

for every motherboard form-

factor available—including

BTX. The interior is highly cus-

tomizable, you can completely

remove the four-fan holder

and confi gure the front door

to open from the left or right,

and everything is tool-less.

Defi nitely Gear-worthy.

$250, http://www.coolermaster.com

Not previously reviewed

Notebook

Dell Inspiron XPS

After much debate, we gave this year’s laptop

Gear to the first gaming rig that won’t parboil

our privates

Boutique vendors, watch out! With its

Inspiron XPS notebook, Dell’s been kicking

ass and taking the serial numbers of all com-

ers. Heck, the fi rst-gen XPS was faster than

some desktops. The Gen 2 XPS continues

that proud tradition and smartens the rig a

touch. While other performance notebooks

use Pentium 4s that run so hot you’ve got to

stuff potholders in your pants to prevent “nad

burn,” the XPS uses a cool and fast Pentium

M. Even though the XPS looks bulky, it’s

very portable for the

power it packs.

$3,420, http://www.dell.

com

Received a 9 ver-

dict in the July

2005 issue

GEAR

YEAR

of

the